Mining companies sue Montana over 'bad actor' decision


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Three subsidiaries of Hecla Mining Inc. are suing Montana over its decision that Hecla's president is a "bad actor" who should pay for past cleanup costs before pursuing new mines.

Montanore Minerals Corp., Troy Mine Inc. and RC Resources asked a Lincoln County district judge Friday to block the Montana Department of Environmental Quality's ruling on Phillips Baker Jr.

Baker was previously an executive for Pegasus Gold Corp., which left a massive cleanup bill at its Montana mines after its 1998 bankruptcy.

Montanore and RC Resources want to develop copper and silver mines in northwestern Montana, and Troy Mine Inc. is in the final stages of cleanup of a mine that is no longer operating.

The companies say DEQ officials are interpreting the law wrong and they shouldn't be punished for the actions of a different mining company.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Most recent Idaho stories

Related topics

IdahoBusiness
The Associated Press

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast